


Alkalis

by MilkyTv



Series: A Cluster of Yuki Spoiling [1]
Category: IDOLiSH7 (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Character Study, Gen, Minor appearance from Torao and Touma
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-15
Updated: 2020-09-15
Packaged: 2021-03-06 20:14:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,596
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26484757
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MilkyTv/pseuds/MilkyTv
Summary: Yuki is sulking right before a group live. Minami is kind of bored and is pretending he didn’t just go through a lot of stuff.
Relationships: Yuki/Natsume Minami
Series: A Cluster of Yuki Spoiling [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1925422
Kudos: 8
Collections: IDOLiSH7 Rarepairs Week 2020





	Alkalis

**Author's Note:**

> This short story is post part 4 with some gentle liberties taken. The live they’re participating in has all four groups :)

Footsteps clack on the tilewest of the hall Yuki had impulsively chosen to wander off in.Yuki does not quite hear them. Too focused on the return of thoughts that had haunted him during Zool and Idolish7’s absence. 

Those thoughts and now, that dream. 

“ Ahh,” the voice echoes. Yuki chooses not to look up. His body slouches forward at the thought of having to deal with someone right now. “So it’s you,” the footsteps stop, Yuki sees a pair of feet a few inches away from his own. 

Yuki looks up,“So it is”. Yuki tightens the lid around his water bottle, nearly to the point of the bottle snapping from the pressure.

Minami Natsume blocks the sparse light emitted from the adjacent hallway ceiling lights. Minami turns his head to adjust to the area, and squints his eyes.

A forgotten corner, unloved, untouched, scuffed tiles; boxes here and there, filled with stage equipment. Most strikingly...

Dark.

Minami takes a moment to raise his hand to his chin, taking note of the condition the lonely hallway is in then coughs intently as he turns his gaze back to Yuki.

They exchange looks. The tension filling the space between them is thick and heavy; Minami is tempted to bite into it.

“Are you hiding? That’s unusual, isn’t it?” Minami asks, allowing his eyes to watch Yuki closely. Searching for something.

“There are things you want to keep to yourself, aren’t there? It’s just that. I wanted to be alone,” Yuki turns his head away, uncomfortable with Minami looking at him so intensely. 

The water bottle crackles under Yuki’s hand as he squeezes it slightly, breaking the short silence before Minami replies.

“Is it? Perhaps this isn’t the best time for that,” Minami suggests, more to himself than to Yuki. But Yuki wouldn’t know that. 

“Do you need something?” Yuki spits, moreso to change the subject than to really ask. 

“ Not especially,” Minami’s lips curl and he smiles with his eyes. Interesting. He continues, “There is something I’m thinking of asking you but it may be a bit much. Today is….” Minami’s thoughts wander.

“The live,” Yuki completes the sentence, crosses his arms and crosses one leg over the other tapping the tip of his shoes on the tile. Still looking away at anything other than Minami.

“May I?” Minami carefully places his hand over his chest and leans forward hoping his body language will be polite enough in gesture to inch closer. Closer to this emotionally injured and bitter man. Minami brushes hair away from his face and presses his lips together. Secretly anxious.

“I don't care,” Yuki mumbles, locking his stare to the dilapidated tiles. 

“I don’t care much for your tone. Shouldn't you be more receptive towards your kouhai?” Minami leans against the wall next to Yuki, closing the distance.

Yuki does not respond. 

Minami ignores the silence with a broken smile on his face. “Shouldn’t you speak to them? That manager you kept looking at,” he bluffs, seeing where it takes him.

“What?” Yuki turns and looks Minami in the eyes. 

Eyes sharper and vicious than Minami imagined they would be.

Yuki’s hand tenses at the mention of “that manager”. Banri. The water bottle snaps and cracks.

Minami closes his eyes for a moment evading Yuki’s glare.“You’ve had this look on your face since you got here”, Minami says with a smile that pulls his ears, his eyes meeting Yuki’s again. 

Yuki furrows his eyebrows and the corner of his mouth twitches, “Why would you notice something like that?” 

Minami subconsciously brings his hand to his face, slightly touching his lower lip with his index finger; his other hand moved over to support his elbow,“Probably because I’m especially curious about that sour look on your face? I don’t really know either.” Except he does know. His eyes followed Yuki as soon as they arrived at the venue whether he wanted them to or not. “Maybe it’s to avoid my own problems. What do you think?” he asks.

“Running away from your own problems, yet telling someone else to face theirs? How ironic,” Yuki scoffs and crosses his arms.

Minami’s eyes bore into Yukis, unwavering. Yuki flinches, looking away for a second. “No, I’m looking my problem right in the face right now,” Minami says with the same, unchanging expression. He is being thoroughly entertained.

Yuki groans and leans forward slightly with his arms still crossed, “ If you’re trying to get along with me, you’re doing terribly, Minami.”

Minami’s smile grows and he closes his eyes, satisfied with the chaos,“ That’s too bad. I do really want to get along with you, Yuki.”

Yuki sighs.

“Like I said,” Minami continues,”You should talk to them, why are you putting it off?” he asks, sincerely this time. 

Yuki ponders completely ignoring him.

“Ignore me and I will curse you for 1000 years,” Minami adds, almost knowingly.

Yukis shoots Minami a disconcerted look, as if Minami can actually do that.

He can’t, right?

“It’s not that important,” Yuki convinces himself. He grips his arms slightly at the thought that it probably is, at least, kind of important.

“Really?” Minami asks, completely unsatisfied. Minami crosses his arms. “You look like you’ve gone through hell and back and it’s ‘not important’? “

“I look that bad?” Yuki touches his face, genuinely concerned. He thought he was hiding it well.

“Only if you’re really looking or have to look, like the makeup crew,” Minami huffs.

“So, you were looking,” Yuki shakes his head and rubs the corners of his eyes with his fingers. Unbelievable.

Silence surrounds them. The silence is so heavy it makes Minami want to kick it repeatedly. 

Yuki puts the water bottle down, out of fear he might actually completely crush it the longer this conversation continues. His hair falls more onto his face. He doesn’t feel like fixing it or brushing it aside.

Minami rolls his eyes and inhales, the annoyance finally starting to reach him. He exhales and his lips part slightly, thinking of how to end the awkward, heavy, annoying,stupid silence. Yuki speaks first.

“It’s really not important,” Yuki’s voice snaps the silence.

Minami’s smile cracks, for the first time. His eyebrows furrow slightly. “Stop telling yourself that.”

“There’s a time and place for this and it's,” Yuki pauses, ”not now.” Yuki looks down at the tiles, distracting himself.

“Oh, but now is the time for brooding in a corner? I had no idea.” Minami sneers while closing his eyes and looking away briefly. 

“He’s not my manager,” Yuki raises his voice,” I can talk to him when he’s free, some other time.” He thinks for a moment. “Besides, how did you know who?” Yuki looks up to see Minami focusing on something in the dark with a frown on his face.

Minami turns his gaze to Yuki at that question. “I didn’t have to know. You told me who just now,” Minami smiles, pleased with himself. “There is only one other manager that is a man, besides your manager.” 

Yuki frowns.

Minami steps in front of Yuki, inches from his face, and brushes Yuki’s hair out of his face. Yuki raises his eyebrows. Minami’s fingers trace half down Yuki’s jaw, then they freeze.

“What are you doing?” Yuki flinches and realizes his poor decision to already be leaning against a wall. 

“Seeing your hair cover up your face was starting to irritate me a little, that’s all,” Minami pulls his hand away quickly. Suddenly unsure what to do with said hand, he pokes Yuki's hand.

Yuki pulls his hand away. 

??????????

“Is that really it?” Yuki asks, ignoring Minami’s strange gesture.

“I wanted to see your face, too, I guess.” 

They stare at each other for a few moments. Minami’s eyes lock on the puffiness and redness of Yuki’s eyes. Yuki’s shoulder’s tense.

“I’m not going to bite you,” Minami grins.

“I wouldn’t put it past you,” Yuki grumbles, pushing himself more against the wall in an attempt to create distance between them.

Minami leans forward, placing his hand and Yuki’s arm and whispers, “I only bite if I have to,” with a smile tugging at his lips.

Yuki blinks.

“Pfft-“ Yuki’s frown finally cracks and he covers his face to laugh. Freely.

“Finally, you smiled,” Minami sighs happily and steps away from Yuki.

“Hmm” Yuki’s shoulders relax and he lets out a breath that he didn’t realize he was holding. So that was it. He smiles.

“We should both get going, by the way. I’ll go first.” Minami steps further back, finally granting Yuki space.“ I do like you, Yuki,” Minami mentions, before he turns himself away and habitually tucks his hair behind his ears and waits for a response. He hears an exasperated sigh.

“You have a very nasty way of showing it.”

Minami laughs softly,“I know.”

The clacking of Minami’s footsteps echo in the hall until they can’t be heard, leaving Yuki to himself.

Yuki picks up the water bottle and mutters, “ I should go back,” before, he too, leaves the corner to itself. As if no one was ever there to begin with.

————————————————————

Touma raises his eyebrows after noticing Minami gently closing the door to the dressing room behind him. The lock clacks.

“Mina, where’d you go? I turned around and you were gone!” Touma leans forward, hanging over the coffee table slightly. 

“He probably just went to go take a piss, Touma. Does he gotta tell you?” Torao crosses his arms and stares at Minami. “Well? Were you?” Torao asks regardless. 

Minami chuckles,“It’s a secret.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you to my beta readers!!  
> Haha. Best way to talk to your crush in the idol industry. 100/100.  
> Hope this was somewhat enjoyable.


End file.
